Glossary: Onboarding
Approval workflow
An approval workflow is the series of steps a seller uses to review a new wholesale applicant and decide to approve, reject or ask for more information before the buyer can see wholesale prices or order. It keeps wholesale access to verified businesses.
In detail
Approval can be manual, automatic or a mix. In a manual flow a person reviews every application. In an automatic flow, rules approve applicants who meet set conditions, such as a business email domain or a valid tax ID, and send the rest to review. Many sellers approve the clear cases automatically and keep a person for the uncertain ones.
Write the checks down so any team member reaches the same decision. Is it a real business (website, registration, a tax ID that passes a lookup)? Does it buy to resell (resale certificate)? Is it in a region you serve? Does it accept your minimum order? Set a response time and publish it on the application form.
Each outcome needs a next step. Approved: the account is active, a tag or group unlocks prices and terms, and a welcome email goes out. Rejected: a polite email, with the reason when you can give one. More information needed: a request for a document, and a note on the record.
Keep account approval and credit approval apart. Access to wholesale prices is one decision, and net terms with a credit limit is another, usually made after a few paid orders. Also decide what happens when a rejected applicant applies again, so the answer is the same every time.
Example
A supplier auto-approves applicants whose email domain matches their company website and whose tax ID passes the check. Every other application waits in a list, where a person approves, rejects or asks for a document within two business days.
On Shopify
Shopify's Help Center describes merchants adding customers to company locations and giving them permissions, with an optional email telling them they can place B2B orders. The page does not describe an application step or an approval workflow.
Source: Shopify Help Center: Adding customers to B2B companies (read October 4, 2026).
In BSS B2B apps
BSS B2B Solution's registration form can approve applicants manually or automatically, and tag them on approval so pricing and lock rules can read the tag. Approval and rejection emails are sent when you turn them on. Approving an applicant creates or updates a Shopify customer, but it does not create a Shopify company, so you set up companies in the Shopify admin. Some form features need a paid plan, see the pricing page.
Related use cases
Learn more
Read the Customer onboarding hub for guides, use cases and setup docs, or the complete Shopify B2B guide.